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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Adams on Vietnam
Message-ID: <998@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Jan-86 12:34:53 EST
Article-I.D.: mmintl.998
Posted: Mon Jan  6 12:34:53 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 13-Jan-86 17:52:55 EST
References: <4690@alice.UUCP> <1788@uwmacc.UUCP> <1484@ihlpg.UUCP> <1840@uwmacc.UUCP> <949@mmintl.UUCP> <457@whuts.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 39

In article <457@whuts.UUCP> orb@whuts.UUCP (SEVENER) writes:
>Being an antiwar protesting veteran of the Vietnam War era, I have
>to point out some facts to Frank Adams:
>> 
>> Let's try to get our stories straight.  We did not put a bomb crater in
>> about every square mile of south-east Asia in support of French imperialism.
>> We didn't do very much in support of French imperialism at all.  We did
>> support it officially, but our interests in the French alliance in Europe
>> were (and still are) far more important to us than all of south-east Asia.
> 
>In fact the US supplied over 50% of the military supplies used by the
>French in Indochina.  [Remainder of paragraph deleted since it in no way
>contradicts what I said.]

I would be interested in a source for this.  When you say supplied, do you
include sales of supplies as well as donations?

Even if this is correct, it remains the case that we did not bomb south-east
Asia in support of French imperialism.

>> An interesting comparison: while the U.S. was fighting in South Vietnam on
>> behalf of the government there, there were hardly any refugees.  When that
>> government lost, there was a flood of them.  The Soviet Union is fighting
>> in Afghanistan on behalf of its government.  Guess what?  There are a
>> flood of refugees.
> 
>Again, you are simply wrong Frank.  There were *plenty* of refugess from
>bombed areas and villages.  They were forced into the equivalent of
>concentration camps in the "strategic hamlet" program begun by William
>Colby.  People from villages considered sympathetic to the Viet Cong
>were forcibly relocated into these "strategic hamlets" which were surrounded
>by barbed wire and soldiers so that they could be "controlled".

Any war produces displaced persons.  The fact remains that the wave of
people *leaving the country* from Vietnam occurred only after the takeover;
the similar wave in Afghanistan is occurring now.

Frank Adams                           ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108